The furor over 2026 World Cup ticket prices raised a fascinating question: How did sports tickets get so expensive in the United States — all while remaining relatively modest in the UK, Europe & elsewhere? Spoke to economists, sports execs, etc. for answers @theathletic.com:

New @theathleticfc.bsky.social New travel bans by Trump administration threaten to exclude fans of Senegal and Ivory Coast from World Cup next summer, with each team having two games in the U.S. Up to four qualified nations impacted now along with Haiti & Iran. www.nytimes.com/athletic/689...

News: FIFA, amid backlash to World Cup ticket prices, has carved out ~1,000 tickets per game to sell for $60 to supporters. More details and context @theathleticfc.bsky.social:

“Going to the World Cup” used to be something normal people did. Not with these ticket prices. @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/688...

FIFA has hiked World Cup ticket prices yet again. It's now... 💵 $700 for some standard group stage tickets 💵 $140 *at minimum* — no more Category 4 💵 $8,680 for a Category 1 ticket to the final @theathleticfc.bsky.social has published a full list of prices here:

FIFA’s pricing for the tickets available to supporters of teams at the World Cup has been criticised by the leading European soccer fans’ group. Full story from @mjslater.bsky.social ⬇️ 🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/688...

NEW: Hotels across US, Canada & Mexico hiked prices during the FIFA World Cup in 2026, with an analysis by The Athletic revealing average increase of over 300 per cent per night around opening matches in the 16 host cities. Report: nytimes.com/athletic/68757…

News: Every 2026 World Cup match will feature two "hydration breaks," no matter the weather. Each half will pause for exactly three minutes midway through. It's a player welfare measure. It also has sporting & commercial implications. More @theathleticfc.bsky.social:

Inside the making of the 2026 World Cup schedule, the most complex ever... ⚽ a years-long process, then a 12-hour sprint in the Kennedy Center's River Pavilion ⚽ simulations, weather data, countless variables It all came together in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Here's how:

Lionel Messi's MLS Cup ended one era at Inter Miami and ushered in a new future for the club, which will open its new stadium with a star above its crest. Can it also will MLS into a new future? As Jorge Mas told me on the field after the win: "It ain't over." www.nytimes.com/athletic/686...

Lionel Messi's win yesterday cemented his on-field legacy in MLS. He's delivered on nearly every level from the sporting and commercial side. But my book, The Messi Effect, dives deeper into what his lasting legacy will be in American soccer. Preorder it now! read.macmillan.com/lp/the-messi...

Hello from the Capital Hilton in DC, site of the 2026 World Cup schedule reveal. Yesterday was what teams and the world were waiting for. Today is what host cities and early ticket buyers are waiting for. Follow along here starting at noon ET: www.nytimes.com/athletic/liv...

#USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino’s own World Cup scars from 2002 failure colors what he preaches to this team. “This is the most unbelievable event and the most unbelievable feeling that you can have. Put everything.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/686...

Blown away by the scale, breadth and quality of @theathletic.com's World Cup draw coverage. Team guides, host city guides, group analysis, live reporting, scene, so much more. (And @tombogert.bsky.social, @paultenorio.bsky.social + others somehow still managed to set the stage for MLS Cup today!)

The 2026 World Cup draw in five words? Bizarre Trump-Infantino love child. Full piece from the Kennedy Center yesterday, @theathleticfc.bsky.social...

The #USMNT got a best-case draw. It should build a bonfire under the belief Mauricio Pochettino has tried to foster over the last year. Fans should be excited. But the U.S. has to go live up to it now. www.nytimes.com/athletic/686...

The waiting is over and the day has finally arrived! Who would you like to see in your FIFA World Cup group in 2026? Follow live coverage as the draw takes place at Kennedy Center in Washington D.C here ⬇️ 🔗 nyti.ms/48k9S10

New explainer on how to get your hands on 2026 World Cup tickets. It's still complicated, but less complicated than before. Info and tips on the December-January "Random Selection Draw," plus resale and more, @theathletic.com:

Happy World Cup draw day from snowy Washington D.C. You could spend two hours cringing at your TV... or you could follow along with @theathleticfc.bsky.social here:

🚨 @theathletic.com's World Cup Draw simulator is live! 🚨 ⬇️

I spoke with 2026 World Cup organizers about the *biggest*, silliest, thorniest question of this grand ⚽ tournament... "soccer" or "football"? (or "fútbol"? or other?)

The Kennedy Center, site of Friday's World Cup draw, was once an apolitical, 'sacred' place. Now it's Trump's. His takeover angered artists & longtime theatergoers. "It's tragic," one told me. And... it's why FIFA's draw is here. Feature w/ @adamcrafton.bsky.social:

⚽️ NEWS: NBC's Rebecca Lowe will join Fox Sports as a host for the World Cup, The Athletic has learned. Full details ... www.nytimes.com/athletic/685...

The Kennedy Center, site of Friday's World Cup draw, was once an apolitical, 'sacred' place. Now it's Trump's. His takeover angered artists & longtime theatergoers. "It's tragic," one told me. And... it's why FIFA's draw is here. Feature w/ @adamcrafton.bsky.social:

Unparalleled work here from @theathleticfc.bsky.social team. Excellent resource for the months ahead:

The soccer world comes to Washington, D.C., this week. But 2026 World Cup games won't be coming. Why? A piece explaining FIFA's snub of the U.S. capital, which, as one source put it, could be boiled down to five words: "We didn't have a stadium."

To kick off World Cup Draw week @theathletic.com... I talked to various stars & masterminds of the 1994 draw — from a supermodel to Sepp Blatter — to tell the story of a "bizarre," "surreal" Vegas spectacle that, as Blatter told me, "will never be matched":

News: U.S. Soccer has proposed 28 cities/metro areas for 2031 Women's World Cup games, with 14 highlighted. The top lines: ⚽ a wide range of NFL stadiums and soccer-specific MLS/NWSL stadiums ⚽ some, though not all, of the 2026 men's WC venues ⚽ no Chicago, again Story @theathleticfc.bsky.social:

FIFA has finalized World Cup draw pots and procedures. The news... ⚽ All playoff teams in Pot 4 🇦🇷🇪🇸 top seeds to opposite sides of the bracket 🇺🇸 USMNT now knows the order of its group opponents: Pot 3 first, Pot 2 second, Pot 4 third More @theathleticfc.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...

Taking another shot at Mauricio Pochettino's 26-man roster for the 2026 World Cup with @henrybushnell.bsky.social. Some new names on this version... www.nytimes.com/athletic/682...

The USMNT's 2026 schedule is nearly set: ⚽️ pre-World Cup camp in Atlanta, May friendly on East Coast 🇩🇪 Sendoff game in Chicago vs. Germany 🇧🇪🇵🇹 March friendlies confirmed @HenryBushnell and I outline the squad's path to the World Cup: www.nytimes.com/athletic/682...

The USMNT's 2026 schedule is nearly set: - pre-World Cup camp in Atlanta, May friendly on East Coast - Sendoff game in Chicago vs. Germany - March friendlies confirmed More details w/ @paultenorio.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/682...

Cristiano Ronaldo is at the White House today, a WH official confirms to @theathletic.com. It's his first known appearance in the U.S. since 2014 — and since he was publicly accused of raping a woman in 2009 in Las Vegas. More w/ @adamcrafton.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/681...

Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to attend a meeting at the White House, on a day when U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in the Oval Office, multiple sources have confirmed to The Athletic. @henrybushnell.bsky.social & @adamcrafton.bsky.social

On Gio Reyna, who's "been through a lot," but “always shows up for the national team"... and showed, once again, why he can be a World Cup difference-maker:

An interview with, and feature on, Max Arfsten. He entered 2025 uncapped. Now, he's started more USMNT games this year than any other player. We chatted about his journey, his Fresno soccer upbringing, late nights training solo in Columbus, his Europe ambitions, and his conviction that "I belong"

Jesús Pérez likes being “2 or 3 yards behind the coach." The difference in pressure is massive. But don't let that fool you. Pérez is Poch's right hand man. "In the shadow of (a) big manager, there (are) always big assistants. And Jesús is one of them," Lloris said. www.nytimes.com/athletic/679...

The MLS calendar flip is a big step — but not the only step — toward greater relevance. On a historic vote and the next steps toward MLS’s success: www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

BREAKING: MLS owners officially voted to flip to a "summer-spring" format beginning in mid-July and running through the end of May. Will start in 2027. Also voted on the regular season format. Details and quotes here from Palm Beach. www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

BREAKING: MLS owners have voted and passed a schedule change. The league will run from the late summer months through May. This is due to start in summer of 2027. MLS will take winter break in Jan/Feb More from @paultenorio.bsky.social on the ground at BOG meeting: www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

We @theathleticfc.bsky.social have now published the full list of updated 2026 World Cup ticket prices here:

MLS owners are *expected* to vote on flipping to fall-spring calendar at Thursday's BOG meeting. Changes to competition format also expected. Let's see if it actually comes to a vote, but implications are enormous. Exclusive details with @tombogert.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

FIFA has raised ticket prices for dozens of 2026 World Cup games, in some cases by more than 20%. Most upper-deck tickets to the World Cup final are now $5,055 or $3,450. Increases for two of three USMNT games. Details @theathletic.com:

Fans with "right to buy" World Cup ticket tokens have a Thursday deadline to act. There's just one problem: they haven't been told how much tickets will cost, but the least-expensive tickets are hardly available, leaving those impacted feeling scammed. ✍️ @henrybushnell.bsky.social

All 24 USMNT players here and training in frigid Chester, Pa. Only one in short sleeves and shorts: Seb Berhalter

FIFA has made tens of millions of dollars selling the "right to buy" World Cup tickets. Some fans who jumped at the "RTBs" now say FIFA's opacity is forcing them into an "unjust ultimatum": www.nytimes.com/athletic/679...

FIFA is selling parking spots (exact location: unknown) at 2026 World Cup games for between $75 and $175 — more than the price of some actual match tickets at previous World Cups. @theathleticfc.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/679...

Gio Reyna has played fewer club minutes this year than any other USMNT player. Hasn't scored or created a goal since January. For months, the rule was: "Players need to perform." Now, Mauricio Pochettino makes an exception for "a special player": www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

Gio Reyna is back. (and, for the first time, in a USMNT camp with Sebastian Berhalter...) Roster analysis with @paultenorio.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

It may surprise you but Lionel Messi has a soft spot for American soccer — and its future With @paultenorio.bsky.social ⤵️